Supporting History

Save Me the Frustration!
How Project Managers and the State Historical Fund May Help You

January, 2002

Those of us who own historic properties and/or have worked in the non-profit world know that when it comes to preservation of our historic resources, the projects often become do-it-yourself specials. With limited financial resources and so much to do in so little time, we frequently have to act as our own project managers, historic preservation specialists, fund-raisers, general contractors, sub-contractors, bookkeepers, and cheerleaders!

But unless we have lots of time and experience to dedicate to each of these jobs, we may become frustrated or overwhelmed. If you are not a historic preservation professional, if you have other demands on your time (like a full-time job), or if you haven't managed grants, the whole project may seem overwhelming. To save you time, frustration, and cost, it is often a better investment to hire a project manager. But how, with such limited financial resources, would one be able to hire a professional project manager, and what would they do for you?

The good news is that the State Historical Fund is happy to help you hire a qualified project manager if it will help you complete your Fund-supported project successfully.

Project managers may be architects, structural engineers, non-profit historic preservation grant managers, or historic preservation specialists who have experience with historic preservation projects. They should know all of the historic preservation standards by which any Fund-supported project must be managed, and they can help save you time, frustration, and they may possibly save you from making costly mistakes. A project manager can make suggestions about preservation treatments (the technical stuff), handle the bidding process to subcontractors, help you through the legal contract process, and compile progress and financial reports.

Project managers should be able to manage many facets of a preservation project. An example of a situation in which a project manager might help would be with a historic church rehabilitation. A small inner city or a rural church, with limited financial resources and many demands on its services, may not have anyone on staff who has managed grants or a historic preservation project before. The church leadership may feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the prospect of managing a technically complicated and financially cumbersome project. In this case, the church may ask the State Historical Fund to hire a project manager as a part of their grant. That way, the church can hire a historical architect, for example, to manage the project so that the church staff can focus on its job of serving the public, while properly caring for its precious historic resources.

In fact, the State Historical Fund general grant application asks for a list of "key staff." If the key staff involved with the project have little experience managing such projects, asking to help hire an appropriately experienced project manager may actually help make a grant application more likely to be funded. Asking for that kind of help when the church simply does not have access to those professional and specialized resources on its own demonstrates to the Fund the church's sense of responsibility and commitment to its historic resource.

Historic preservation projects should be satisfying and rewarding, not intimidating and cumbersome. The Fund's staff loves to hear about preservation projects that were painless, satisfying, and completed according to the highest historic preservation standards-and the Fund is happy to facilitate that experience for applicants!

BY Rachael Simpson, State Historical Fund Technical Advisor

For help finding a qualified project manager or for more information, please call SHF application staff Rachel Simpson or Lyle Miller at 303/866-2825.